"The 19th Chart" will be broadcast on Sunday Theatre (every Sunday at 9pm)! The original is the serialized manga "The 19th Chart: Tokushige Akira's Medical Interview" by Fujiya Katsuhito, who also illustrated "After all, it's someone else's business - The true work of a certain lawyer". The script is written by Tsubota Aya, who also wrote the "Kounodori" series. "The 19th Chart" is a new type of human medical entertainment that depicts a 19th new field, a general practitioner, who not only diagnoses illnesses, but also finds what is best for the patient based on their mind and lifestyle, and lends a hand to their way of life itself!

Matsumoto Jun returns to Sunday Theatre for the first time in about seven years! In his 30-year career, he takes on his first role as a doctor!

Matsumoto Jun will be taking on the lead role in this production. This will be his first drama appearance since starring in the NHK Taiga drama "What Will Ieyasu Do?" in 2023. This will also be his long-awaited terrestrial drama appearance, and his first triumphant return to Sunday Theatre in about seven years since "99.9 - Criminal Lawyer - SEASON II" in 2018. In recent years, Matsumoto has demonstrated his presence in a variety of fields, not only in film works, but also in stage performances, live performances, and even participating in the Osaka-Kansai Expo (2025 Japan World Expo). Having steadily expanded his scope as an artist, he will take on his first role as a doctor in this production, now in his 30th year in the career.

In this film, Matsumoto plays Akira Tokushige, a general practitioner who belongs to the newly established general medicine department at Uotora General Hospital.
Today, medical care in Japan has developed to a high level, with 18 specialties divided into areas based on organs, such as "neurosurgery," "ophthalmology," and "orthopedics," and each speciality is examined and treated by its own specialist. A new 19th field has been added to these 18 fields: general medicine. Regardless of the organ, gender, or age of the patient, general medicine carefully examines each and every complaint of the patient, and as its name suggests, it examines them "comprehensively," taking into account their lifestyle, home environment, and even their mental state. In other words, it is a "doctor who examines people." Although the specialist system has been established in recent years and general medicine was launched as the 19th new field, its existence is still not widely known to the public.
The greatest weapon of Tokushige, a general practitioner, is not his god-hands that perform highly difficult surgeries, nor his super-genius mind that can instantly see through everything, but simply his "medical interview"! In other words, he faces the patient, listens to them thoroughly, and sometimes sees through the lies hidden in their stories and engages in dialogue. Tokushige is calm and easygoing, and at first glance seems elusive, but at the core of his personality is his strong desire to face and save "people," "life," and "living." Patients with complex symptoms who don't know which department to visit, and sometimes patients who even specialists have difficulty diagnosing even after tests, come to Tokushige one after another! How can the small sufferings that everyone has in their daily lives, such as those who deny it by saying "it's not enough to take a break," or those who try to endure alone while hiding their family circumstances or true feelings, be resolved and guided by the medical treatment that only a general practitioner like Tokushige can provide?

This is a new medical drama that tackles the theme of "treating people" head-on through the actor's sincere dialogue with patients. In his 30th year in the business, Matsumoto is pursuing new forms of expression in all fields, so be sure to pay attention to the persuasive power that only he can unleash and to this new side of him. What does it mean to "live" in modern society? Please look forward to Sunday Theatre's "The 19th Chart," which will start in July and warmly pose this universal question through daily medical treatment.

Comments

 
I'm sure there are many people who have learned about "general medicine" through this drama. I am one of them.
The character I play, Tokushige, will be working in the new field of "general medicine," and will be facing patients while sensing the future changes in Japanese medical care.
I would be happy if this work could broaden understanding of the current state of medical care in Japan and "general medical care" even a little.
The script is also very appealing. I hope that those who watch this work will feel warm and have a more positive attitude towards medicine... I hope that we can deliver a drama that will gently push you forward. Please look forward to it.


It's finally been made into a TV drama! And it's on that Sunday Theatre!
I feel very honored to have my work featured as an original work in such a long-established format.
As a medical manga, it has no gritty power struggles, no spectacular surgeries, and no super doctors.
I have depicted a part of each of the lives of doctors who are still struggling to save someone somewhere, and patients who are living with pain.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how this medical drama, which has no heroes or villains, will be brought to life in live-action.


In our daily lives, we have all experienced the anxiety and loneliness that comes from physical or mental discomfort. If there was a "general practitioner" at such times, many people would surely be saved, and the world would be a kinder place - that's what I thought when I first read the original novel and learned about general medicine. And I had a strong desire to turn this original novel into a drama! That wish has now come true, and in July, Sunday Theatre will be presenting "The 19th Chart," based on the original work by Fujiya Katsuhito, which depicts the life of a general practitioner who specializes in "examining people"! I am truly grateful to Fujiya Dr. for entrusting us with this important story.
Matsumoto Jun plays the main character, general practitioner Tokushige Akira! When we first met Matsumoto and told him about the feelings we had for this drama, he looked me straight in the eye and listened. His gaze seemed to see right through me, and I remember thinking, "I have to set aside all pretenses and tell you what I really think! I want to talk! I want him to listen!" I felt like I saw the main character, Dr. Tokushige. I'm very happy to be able to take on a new medical drama with Matsumoto, about a doctor in a new field.
The script was written by Tsubota Aya, the scriptwriter who worked on the "Kounodori" series. The powerful words will take your breath away, make you chuckle, and then suddenly bring you to tears with a warmth that seems to envelop you... I can't wait to share the warm words that Tsubota has spun with everyone.
Furthermore, many doctors and medical professionals, including general practitioner Dr. Masaomi Ikusaka, readily agreed to supervise and be interviewed, becoming part of the drama, saying, "I hope that general medicine will become more widespread in society. I'm sure it will save a lot of people. I'm sure it will improve medical care in Japan. I'll cooperate as much as I can for that purpose." It's a happy set blessed with a wonderful original work and a cast and staff.
Dramas are not something that can cure illnesses or people like doctors or medicine. But we hope that those who watch this drama can sleep peacefully on Sunday night with a warm feeling, and that they can start the new week that begins tomorrow with a slightly lighter feeling than usual. With this wish in mind, the cast and staff will come together to create the Sunday Theatre "The 19th Chart"! Please look forward to it!


I wanted to create a story that could save even one person. When I found myself at a loss, I came across "The 19th Chart" and felt my heart become a little lighter.
Overall? A doctor who "examines" people? No. 19? As I read on with interest and questions, I felt like I had been touched by a part of myself that I had not been able to reach before, as Tokushige not only saves lives, but also accompanies the pain of living.
I felt that this was the ideal protagonist I had always envisioned, and I wanted to present a story with such a person at the forefront on Sunday Theatre.
Tokushige is not a superman or a god hand, but he is someone who can see things from the same perspective as the person in front of him. He may seem to take a step back, but in fact he sees everything, and I think he is someone who quietly fights with those around him and with himself in order to "live."
There must be people in your company or everyday life who make you think, "Because this person was here, something might have changed, like a breeze blew."
This time, I spoke to many doctors and received their cooperation. I used to think of "doctors" as being somewhat distant, but I realized that they live their lives with worries and doubts just like us, and that each doctor has their own ideal image and struggles.
The story depicts doctors with such a perspective, and the patients they meet, being released from the pain buried in their daily lives, and is a place of salvation for the viewers.
A person who quietly continues to pursue "how I want to be" while battling with himself. A person with a gaze that has seen many things. I think that only Jun Matsumoto could have the character of Tokushige.
It's not over once a life is saved, but life beyond that has not only sweetness but also bitterness. We will present the figures of people who persevere and live their lives as entertainment.
I hope that those who watch it will feel like "this is my story" and that it will become a place where they can belong.
Starting in July, we look forward to seeing you on Sunday nights at 9pm with Dr. Tokushige and the whole team!

Program Overview

[title]Sunday Theatre "The 19th Chart"
[Broadcast date and time]Starting in July, every Sunday from 9:00 to 9:54
［Performers］Akira Tokushige (Jun Matsumoto)
[staff] 
Produced by TBS Sparkle
ＴＢＳ 
Original work by Katsuhito Fujiya "The 19th Chart: Akira Tokushige's Medical Interview" (Zenon Comics/Core Mix)
Screenplay by Fumi Tsubota
Producer: Aina Iwasaki
Planning: Masuda Chiaki
Collaborating producer: Megumi Aiba
Performance Takahiro Aoyama 
Tanazawa Takayoshi 
Izumi Masahide 
Compiled by Mei Yoshito 
Osamu Takada

Original information